Case studies
A major UK housebuilder had good leads and sales, and lockdown sharpened a question it had not asked: whether digital activity oriented entirely to maximising the number of house buying contacts was actually effective. I reviewed the approach and found the costs quoted, the platform proposed and the project plan for the website rebuild were all inappropriate. A new brief and a new agency process produced a WordPress site in under 7 weeks at a considerable saving, with all contracts, editing, hosting and tracking in the client's own control.
A major UK housebuilder determined that its digital processes and presence were possibly not as effective or efficient as its customers demanded. Leads and sales were good, but the onset of lockdown brought a range of issues into sharper focus: how to engage house buyers in a remote environment, and how to convert web visitors to action.
All digital activity was oriented to generating the maximum number of house buying contacts. But how effective was that approach?
There was a recognition that the website, the digital assets and the digital skills in the business all needed improving. Senior board members researched possible resources to help, and on the recommendation of another housebuilder, discussions started with Braid.
Several initiatives were already underway, including a website rebuild, an advertising review, a portals review, CRM plans and a range of product and promotional initiatives. An important requirement was that the progress of the current programme was not disrupted.
The brief covered reviewing the current approach to developing digital marketing capabilities, with recommendations on how to significantly accelerate delivery including costs, resources, timescales and measures of success; assessing how the long-term digital strategy could challenge or exceed best-in-class examples, and how to close the gap; supporting implementation; assessing internal capability to deliver; scoping third-party requirements including CRM; and reviewing current marketing campaigns, from the ability to capture customer data through to return on investment.
The team had already identified that the website needed much work: no editing control, so everything depended on the agency; slow development of creatives, page structures and site services; and a range of optimisation issues.
Reviewing the plans, it was clear the costs being quoted, the platform proposed and the project plan and deadline would not be appropriate. I developed a new brief and project plan, identified a range of agencies, provided the brief and assessed the proposals, then managed both agency and client to deliver within a tight timetable and budget.
Beyond the website, the strategic review highlighted supplier reporting and how it was interpreted and acted on, internal reporting clarity, marketing spend efficiency, underused traffic routes, team skills, and customer management including CRM and nurturing.
I developed a short and medium term plan to prioritise the changes. That produced a full team training programme including one-to-one mentoring, with continuous assessment leading to a stage 2 training plan 6 months on.
The supplier review led to more activity being resourced in-house, including recruitment. I developed a brief for lead acquisition, identified suitable suppliers and ran the pitch process. The email campaign methodology was reviewed too: GDPR issues and administrative objectives led to a recommendation of new platforms and supplier, and I managed the transition with the future CRM strategy as a key factor in future-proofing it.
A new WordPress website in under 7 weeks, at a considerable saving on the original cost.
The project put all contracts and editing in the client's control, including all accounts, hosting and tracking. A research programme launched immediately, with ongoing variant testing based on data and third party research, and new calls to action and forms produced a major uplift in online conversion. Training for the marketing team to use the system ran before and after launch.
From the wider review: an expansion in the range of acquisition routes, a reduction in agency costs, and a holistic strategy coordinating awareness, engagement and lead quality. Web functionality and usability stayed under the spotlight after launch, with best-in-class objectives applied to several functions.
A rebuild quoted at the wrong price on the wrong platform is not a procurement problem to be negotiated down, it is a brief problem. Rewriting the brief and running a proper agency process is what produced the same outcome in under 7 weeks for considerably less.
The more durable change was ownership. Putting the contracts, accounts, hosting, tracking and editing in the client's own hands, then training the team before and after launch, is what stops the next rebuild starting from the same place.
The sector view is on the housebuilders page. The same engagement, told with the client named and the figures attached, is in St Modwen Homes: a twelve month digital reset.
The costs quoted, the platform proposed and the project plan and deadline were all inappropriate for what the business actually needed. That is a brief problem rather than a price problem, which is why rewriting the brief and re-running the agency process produced a site in under 7 weeks at a considerable saving.
It removes the dependency that caused the problem. The team had no editing control and everything went through the agency, so development was slow. Moving the accounts, hosting, tracking and editing to the client, with training before and after launch, is what makes the next change possible without a procurement.
It should not, and that was an explicit requirement here. Several initiatives were already running, including the website rebuild, an advertising review and CRM plans, and the brief was to accelerate them rather than stop and restart.
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